car·at

[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin quarātus, from Arabic qīrāṭ, a measure of weight, from Greek kerātion, carob pod, a measure of weight (originally defined in reference to a dried carob seed), from diminutive of keras, kerāt-, horn (from the pod's shape ); see ker- in Indo-European roots.]

carat

(ˈkærət)

n

1. (Units) a measure of the weight of precious stones, esp diamonds. It was formerly defined as 3.17 grains, but the international carat is now standardized as 0.20 grams

2. (Units) Usual US spelling: karat a measure of the proportion of gold in an alloy, expressed as the number of parts of gold in 24 parts of the alloy

[C16: from Old French, from Medieval Latin carratus, from Arabic qīrāt weight of four grains, carat, from Greek keration a little horn, from keras horn]

unit, unit of measurement - any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange; "the dollar is the United States unit of currency"; "a unit of wheat is a bushel"; "change per unit volume"

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